Edmond Kherlopian: From Kenya to South Africa and Zambia

My father was born in Van and at age 7 with his 9-year-old sister became a refugee since his complete family was wiped out by the Turks. As I recall he travelled through Iran, Iraq and Syria and the sister ended up in Beirut.

And how did your family end up in Africa?

By now my dad was in his 20s and due to the war, the French government collected many Armenian families and settled them in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A very large community developed there. After getting married to my mother, my two elder brothers were born there; then they moved to Nairobi, Kenya, in 1938, where I was born in 1942.

As far as I know there were 10 Armenian families in Kenya — the Tekerian, Saatjian and  Dasnabedian families. Have you any idea if there are Armenians there?

To my knowledge all Armenians left Kenya when it achieved independence due to a very violent transition from British administration and non-Blacks were targeted simply because they were white or Asian. I left in 1969 for South Africa. My dad passed away in 1975 leaving my mother alone and she was attacked in her home and terrorized by a gang of thugs who were allowed into the property by the security guard. She never recovered from that assault. I moved her to Johannesburg after that and she lived with my family and with her younger sister Juliette, who was also in Johannesburg with her family.

The family names I remember in Nairobi besides ourselves was my grandmother’s family,  the Hindoians, five sisters and two brothers; my mother Ossana, the eldest child; Virginia Tekerian, Louise Essoyan, Juliette Kelly and Violet Scheidat. Two brothers Moses and Krikor. All except Virginia (US) and Violet (Australia) are late. Also there apart from all the above, were the Tomasyans, and many others whom I don’t seem to remember but it will come back as I think more about them.